Free courses
Produced by The Open University, a world leader in open and distance learning, all OpenLearn courses are free to study. We offer nearly 1000 free courses across 9 different subject areas. Our courses are available to start right away.
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Money & Business
Supply chain sustainability
To survive in today’s competitive environment, organisations need not only have an efficient and effective supply chain for the context in which they operate, they also have to consider issues of sustainability in their supply chain strategies. These issues are a consideration beyond those of environmental sustainability and also encompass ...

Health, Sports & Psychology
Communication and working relationships in sport and fitness
This free course, Communication and working relationships in sport and fitness, explores the personal skills that underpin so much work in sport and gyms. We often hear employers refer to the importance of these interpersonal relationships or ‘soft skills’ in sport and fitness, and in this unique course you’ll build valuable insights into ...

Science, Maths & Technology
Exploring the relationship between anxiety and depression
This free advanced level course, Exploring the relationship between anxiety and depression, serves as an introduction to masters level study in neurosciences and mental health. Focusing on anxiety and depression, you will consider key issues concerning diagnosis, causes and interventions, exploring how these conditions relate to each other. You ...

Money & Business
Exploring career mentoring and coaching
This free course, Exploring career mentoring and coaching, will explain what mentors and career coaches do and how a colleague or expert who can ask the right questions, challenge assumptions, and help an individual to find the best solutions for themselves, can make a significant difference in a wide range of situations and contexts.

Money & Business
Rent or buy? The challenge of access to housing
Everyone needs a place they call home and housing costs are usually your largest outgoing. Many aspire to buy, but rising house prices, while good news for existing owners, put homeownership beyond the reach of others. This free course, Rent or buy? The challenge of access to housing, addresses some of the most important decisions that ...

Science, Maths & Technology
Exploring anxiety
This free advanced level course, Exploring anxiety, serves as an introduction to masters level study in neurosciences and mental health. Focusing on anxiety, you will consider key issues concerning diagnosis, causes and interventions. You will also learn how to evaluate news items, and to go behind the headlines and begin to explore some of the ...

Money & Business
Effective communication in the workplace
This free course, Effective communication in the workplace, explores the importance of communication as a skill in the workplace. It aims to increase your understanding of communication skills and to help you to consider how your communication could be perceived by others. You'll cover areas such as verbal and non-verbal communication, written ...

Money & Business
Entrepreneurship – from ideas to reality
This free course, Entrepreneurship: from ideas to reality, is about starting and running your own business. Using case studies it will take you through the decisions from generating initial ideas through to deciding what you will do and how to establish your business and grow it. It will guide you through business models, funding options, ...

Money & Business
Personal branding for career success
This free course, Personal branding for career success, considers what a personal brand is and whether you currently have one. You’ll look in detail at theories and examples of personal branding, and relevant marketing processes and practices. You’ll identify the values, skills, knowledge and expertise that you want to promote to employers, and ...

Money & Business
Risk management
Recent decades have seen an array of news stories where risk management failings have undermined an organisation and dented the credibility of its management. These failings have led to the demise of some companies – for example Lehman Brothers, World-Com and Enron. Worse than this, in many instances the failings have resulted in deaths and ...

Science, Maths & Technology
Everyday maths 1
This free course, Everyday maths 1, is designed to bring your learning to life, inspiring you to improve your current maths skills or helping you to remember any areas that you may have forgotten. Working through the examples and interactive activities in this course will help you to, among other things, run a household or make progress in your ...

Health, Sports & Psychology
Exploring issues in women's health
This free course, Exploring issues in women's health, will introduce social model approaches to health and wellbeing, which take as their starting point not the scientific context of the body, but the social context in which women live. The focus is on women and the impact of social and cultural factors on women's health. The course touches...